“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” ~ Nikola Tesla

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

"If your mental attitude is positive, even when threats abound, you won’t lose your inner peace. On the other hand, if your mind is negative, marked by fear, suspicion and feelings of helplessness, even among your best friends, in a pleasant atmosphere and comfortable surroundings, you won’t be happy."

Last edited by SecretAgentMan on August 20th, 2015, 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." ~ Albert Einstein

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

I came across this one in my FB newsfeed today and thought I'd share it.

"One day she finally grasped that unexpected things were always going to happen in life. And with that, she realized the only control she had was how she chose to handle them. So, she made the decision to survive using courage, humor, and grace. She was the queen of her own life and the choice was hers." ~ Kathy Kinney

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

I'm not a Buddhist and it isn't my intent to sell it here. I just like these stories because they come with powerful lessons. This story is about carrying mental burdens without realizing it. I think many BFS sufferers can gleam some value from this lesson.

http://www.endlesshumanpotential.com/buddhist-monk-sltory.htm wrote:Two Buddhist Monks were on a journey, one was a senior monk, the other a junior monk. During their journey they approached a raging river and on the river bank stood a young lady. She was clearly concerned about how she would get to the other side of the river without drowning.

The junior monk walked straight past her without giving it a thought and he crossed the river. The senior monk picked up the woman and carried her across the river. He placed her down, they parted ways with the woman and on they went with the journey.

As the journey went on, the senior monk could see some concern on the junior monk's mind, he asked what was wrong. The junior monk replied, "how could you carry her like that? You know we can't touch women, it's against our way of life". The senior monk answered, "I left the woman at the rivers edge a long way back, why are you still carrying her?"

The moral of the story: The senior monk had broken rules but for good reason. Once the purpose was fulfilled he put her down and continued on. He never gave it a further thought. The junior monk however did not touch the woman but he had brought up the actions of the senior monk when it was an action of the past. Therefore the junior monk was carrying the burden of what the senior monk had done as emotional baggage.

We have little use for the past except for the purpose of learning from our experiences, good and bad. Just like in the Buddhist story, we need to let go of any burden the past may place on us. It's happened, it's over, it cannot be changed, we can only move forward and create a compelling future.

Last edited by SecretAgentMan on November 20th, 2014, 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

This is an article called "Dissolving Our Fear of Death Through Meditation" and I thought I would share because honestly I think that this is at the root of all fears... I can honestly say that meditation has greatly helped me in this regard as described below...

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/dissolving-our-fear-of-death-through-meditation wrote:Q: My best friend was killed in a car accident recently, and her sudden death made me realize that I’m afraid of dying. Does it hurt?

A: No, death doesn’t hurt. Death brings peace and takes away our pain. What does hurt though is fear of death. If we can overcome that, death isn’t painful. Many forces in nature are very loving, and death is one of them. It is Mother Nature’s final remedy—the most loving, kind, and generous of Her forces. Yet fear of death haunts our mind.

As you are discovering, fear of death is quite painful. It has two ingredients: fear of loss and fear of the unknown. Fear of losing what we have and what we know ourselves to be is the main ingredient. When we die, anything we identify with is completely wiped out—our thoughts, our feelings, our learning, our attainments, our memories all vanish. From our standpoint, when we die, our children die, our spouse dies, our friends die, our possessions die, our net worth dies. All of it disappears. That’s scary and painful.

This pain is intensified by uncertainty. We don’t know what comes after death. Will I continue to exist? If so, what will my existence be like? Most of us have no experience of the core of our being—the part of us that is utterly independent of our body, breath, mind, and senses. That is why, as we approach the moment when death separates consciousness from our familiar physical and mental selves, we panic. If I don’t have a body, if I don’t have senses, if I can’t breathe, if I don’t have a mind, then who am I? How am I going to be? This deep uncertainty breeds fear of death.

Meditation destroys this fear by giving us access to the vibrant core of our being, which is completely independent of the body, breath, and mind. This direct experience engenders an unshakeable faith in a dimension of reality much deeper, more profound, and more fulfilling than anything connected with material existence. It infuses our heart and mind with confidence that we are eternal. In the light of this experience, our fear of death dissolves.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." ~ Marcus Aurelius

Last edited by SecretAgentMan on August 20th, 2015, 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

SAM. Today I don't have words of contemplation, inspiration, and wisdom ( not that I ever do on any other day either), however I do have words of thanks. Know we like to disagree ocçasionally, however I enjoy your postings and appreciate the time you take to try to help with topics such as this.

Here is a few quotes dedicated to the engineer in you ( not sure if you still work as one now).

A scientist can discover a new star but he cannot make one. He would have to ask an engineer to do it for him. — Gordon Lindsay Glegg

Scientists study the world as it is, engineers create the world that never has been. — Theodore von Karman

Being an engineer and someone who greatly respects the scientific method, I'm inclined to give credence and thought to what the great mystics have said.... their record of describing reality via direct intuitive observation, has tended to be centuries ahead of what scientists have later confirmed.

Cheers,Bill

A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms--Albert Einstein

Wow, thank you Little Lost for the kind words. Part of my motivation to start this thread was to keep a constant, reliable source of pick-me-up quotes available for people when they were feeling down. The 'Off Topic' sub-group doesn't get much traffic so this thread usually stays near the top. I try to remember to post inspirational or motivational things when I come across them to keep the material fresh too. Honestly there have been a few times I've needed to read back through some of these to pick myself up when I have needed it.

I am still an engineer and appreciated the engineer quotes. Interestingly I work side by side with a bunch of scientists and am even married to one, so I will have to use these the next time they try and pick on me.

And as always I appreciate your insight and perspective Bill. I agree that science is only just now beginning to validate some ancient wisdom that has been passed down through the centuries. I didn't come around to appreciating the words of mystics overnight, but the more I do the more it continues to amaze me. To each their own though. I will not fault anyone for not agreeing with me. After all, when you really think about it no two people will ever agree on everything. That's pretty powerful to realize right there. Nobody alive (or dead) sees the world the exact same way as you. We all disagree on something, so why fight about it?

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” ~ Wayne W. Dyer

Last edited by SecretAgentMan on August 20th, 2015, 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.

"Some people create their own storms and get mad when it rains." ~ Unknown

"It is better to walk alone than with a crown going in the wrong direction." ~ Unknown

Last edited by SecretAgentMan on August 20th, 2015, 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.